7:24. but
he holds the priesthood inviolate. The word aparabaton (“inviolate”) could be used in a prescriptive sense: a
judge’s decision was “to remain valid and inviolate” (P. Ryl. #65.18), and people were to pursue what was best, making
this an inviolable law (Epictetus, Ench.
51.2; Disc. 2.15.1). The term was
used descriptively for what did not deviate from the norm (Philo, Eternity 112; Plutarch, Mor. 410E), like Jews who constantly
adhered to the Mosaic Law (Josephus, Ant.
18:266; Ag. Ap. 2.293). Here the term
indicates that Jesus holds his priesthood in a manner unbroken by death (NASB;
NIV; NSV; REB; NJB; NAB2). The
alternative is that aparabaton means “untransferable,”
since Jesus has no successor in priestly office (TEV; Chrysostom; Ps.—Oecumenius;
Theodoret; Erasmus, Paraphrase;
Moffatt; Spicq; P.E. Hughes). The
problem is that this meaning is not attested in sources contemporary with
Hebrews. See J. Schneider, TDNT
5.742-43; TLNT 1.143-44. (Craig R.
Koester, Hebrews: A New Translation with
Introduction and Commentary [AB 36; New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001],
365, emphasis in bold added)
Further Reading
Robert S.
Boylan, After the Order of the Son of
God: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Latter-day Saint Theology of the
Priesthood (PDF available
for free online)
Jaxon
Washburn, Is
Christ’s Priesthood Non-Transferable? Examining “Aparabatos” in Hebrews 7:24
